It's been one hell of a year, and I've had a rough ride over the past decade or so. The wheel doesn't stop its grinding just because you have a milestone coming up, though, so I wanted to take a moment to both acknowledge my birthday this year (something I don't normally do), and to ask folks to help me out with a couple of projects I've been having trouble getting eyes and ears tuned in to.
So, if you'd like to help me make sure that this Douglas Adams birthday of mine is a good one, please check the list below for how you can help!
It would really give me something to celebrate!
But before I get into the meat of today's post, remember, don't forget to sign up for my newsletter to
get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of
spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning,
consider becoming a Patreon patron! Also, be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree.
Lastly, for hundreds of extra articles on gaming, weird history, and for more free fiction, check out my Vocal archive, too!
How Can You Help (Free Stuff)?
First and foremost, I know we're all on the struggle these days, and most of my regulars are on very tight budgets. So, most of the things I'm going to ask for are things that will cost you nothing but a bit of time, but it will still go a long way toward helping make my coming year a little easier.
I'm not getting any younger, after all.
At the top of the list is the new project I launched with Alice Liddell a few months back, The A.L.I.C.E. Files. This YouTube channel features audio book readings, as well as an ongoing plot involving the mysterious Carroll Institute, and the latest "Alice" who has signed on as a witness cataloger. And because this project is new, we simply aren't getting paid for it yet. It's a huge amount of time, effort, and energy, though, which is why I'd really appreciate folks going to the channel, and giving the episodes we have out a watch. If you like what you see (or you just want to help us reach our goals so YouTube will actually share ad revenue with us), subscribe to the channels, like the videos, and leave some comments on ones you enjoy the most.
We just broke 300 subscribers, and we've got less than 1,000 watch hours. Those numbers need to be 1,000 and 4,000 respectively for us to actually start getting paid... so even getting us a few steps closer would be great!
The second thing you could do to help also involves YouTube! I've been making videos for the Azukail Games YouTube channel for some time, and we did manage to get the channel monetized (in no small part thanks to the surprise success of my video essay The Problem With Pentex). However, we're really close to hitting a new milestone over there as well! At time of writing we're about 30 people away from crossing over the 2,000 subscriber mark... it's a drop in the bucket by YouTube standards, but it would still be a pretty awesome finish line to cross.
Especially since the channel only had 300 and change folks subscribed when I first started making videos for it.
Second verse same as the first with this one. If you aren't subscribed, please do so. And whether you are or not, watch a couple of videos, and see if there's something here that you'd like! We've got advice for World/Chronicles of Darkness, discussions about my fantasy setting Sundara: Dawn of a New Age, crafting videos, previews of supplements, videos about my RPG Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic... and so much more!
And last on the free list, I want to let folks know about my Vocal.Media archive. I've got more than 300 free articles over there covering fantasy and sci fi, RPGs, fan and original fiction, and more... but more importantly, I get paid for every read! So consider bookmarking it, and reading through the archive. It's only a penny a read, but if you find something you really like, consider sharing it on your socials, telling your friends about it, etc. as well to help me grab some more eyeballs.
It really does help, when all is said and done.
If You Want To Throw Money At Something, Though...
If you're one of those people out there who wants to get me something to mark the occasion, and help me pay my bills at the same time, then you might consider becoming a Patreon patron. I recently switched to the monthly subscription model, and it's been tough to rebuild my earnings on that platform. Or if you just want to give me a little tip to help keep me going, you could just Buy Me A Ko-Fi.
Of course, you can also check out my Amazon author page, or type my full name (Neal Litherland, for those who don't know) into Drive Thru RPG. You'll find a dozen or so books on the former site, and over 200 separate supplements on the latter to choose from!
However you choose to help, it's much appreciated! Thanks in advance, and I'm going to try to keep things going in 2026 to get even more stuff right in front of all of you!
Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!
That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!
To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Blue Sky, Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!
As regular readers know, my first RPG Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic was released earlier this year after a successful Kickstarter campaign. In this game players take on the role of a squad of soldiers fighting for one of the nations of the Plastos Federation as they attempt to defend their home from the incursions of the vespoids; gigantic, insectile creatures that have placed all the resinous persons under serious threat. In addition to that very hot war there are also Cold War tensions between many of the nations, there are terrorist organizations and criminal syndicates to deal with, as well as pieces of strange, alien technology that may be more than they seem at first glance, as well as plastic dinosaurs roaming the wilderness beyond the Federation's borders.
What I'd like to ask folks this week, since we're in our Crunch update, is what sort of mechanical supplements you'd like to see for this game in the coming months?
What do you need for resupply?
As always, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron! Also, be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree.
Lastly, for hundreds of extra articles on gaming, weird history, and for more free fiction, check out my Vocal archive, too!
Exploits, Gear, And Creatures To Fear
Since Army Men initially dropped, three separate supplements have been released. The first, Army Men: Threat Assessments, is a collection of extra threats, creatures, and things that your troopers are going to have to deal with in the field. The second, Army Men: Medals of Honor, introduced the medals system as a way for you to recognize your troopers' accomplishments while on campaign, and to give your players things to strive for. And the most recent supplement, Ungentlemanly Warfare: A Baker's Dozen of Booby Traps, is full of deadly traps for Game Masters to put into the field for their troopers (or their enemies) to deal with. And if you keep your eyes peeled, the first of the Army Men missions should be coming out soon, with a short adventure set in United Polymeria!
However, because I wanted to focus this game on strategy, equipment, and abilities, I wanted to take a moment to ask folks in the audience... what would you actually like to see more of?
There's several options on the board!
So, I've had a lot of ideas for some things I'd like to expand for the mechanical side of Army Men for folks who want to see even more resources for the game. At the moment, though, the things I'm currently looking at are:
- Additional Missions: Though A Night At Breckon's Beacon isn't out at time of writing, my plan was to get at least 4 more mission guides written and going through editorial in the near future. However, if there's more demand for missions than there is for other options, they're going to get bumped to the top of the list!
- Army Men: Weapons Locker: While not a finalized title, the basic idea behind this series would be, as the title suggests, to be to put more weapons, armor, and general equipment into the hands of your troopers. There might even be some items with the Experimental tag attached to them, in the event folks want a little more of the sci-fi nonsense I've hinted at with this game.
- Army Men: Enhanced Exploits: The exploits system is the main way players pick up and add abilities to their troopers. While there's a variety of them in the base book, this supplement would give you new trees to draw from, and provide additional paths you could use to develop your character in your coming campaign.
- Army Men: Soldiers of Fortune: While originally the title I was going to use for a larger softcover release (which this might still be, if there's enough enthusiasm), the idea behind this supplement was to add something of an A-Team vibe to the game by including the option to play as mercenaries. This would provide players with new classes to choose from, new exploits, fresh backgrounds, as well as a slew of additional items, and likely a Reputation system for acquiring new gear in the field, or before a mission (since mercenaries may not have access to the armories of a nation's standing army).
These aren't the only ideas I've had for supplements to expand the game world, but at time of writing these are the four directions I've narrowed likely expansion to. So if you're a fan of Army Men, then make sure you make your voice heard so I know what sort of content you'd like to see from me going forward!
And if you'd like to know more about the game and setting, make sure to check out the new series Tactical Plastic Report over on the Azukail Games YouTube channel. I just got it off the ground, so now is the perfect time to make your voice heard on what subjects you'd like to see covered!
Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!
That's all for this week's Crunch post! To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!
To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!
I've been talking a lot recently about the nuts and bolts of what it requires to take creative visions and turn them into hard realities that will pay your bills, and keep you afloat as a creator. One of my recent posts of on The Literary Mercenary, "Passion" Is Not A Replacement For A Solid Business Plan, actually harped on this issue in a way that started some interesting discussions (and at least one flame war). And not all that long ago I put up an episode of Tabletop Mercenary talking about how You Get Paid For What You Sell, Not What You Create, linked below.
And I tell you all of that to sort of set the scene for this week's discussion. Because I've been putting a lot of sweat into two of my ongoing projects, my PF and DND setting Sundara: Dawn of a New Age, as well as my first full RPG Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic. However, there's only so much I can do on my own, and I'm hoping that giving you all a look behind the curtain might help rally a few folks to my banner before I lose my grip on it!
As always, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron! Also, be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree.
Lastly, for hundreds of extra articles on gaming, weird history, and for more free fiction, check out my Vocal archive, too!
Building A Base, Or Wasting Time?
There's a story that was floating around Facebook a while ago, and it's transcribed from the oral history of the publishing industry. The way it goes is there's a guy from accounting at a major publisher, and he's talking to one of the editors. He's been going over the numbers, and he's just flabbergasted that a majority of the publisher's earnings come from a handful of superstar authors, while the rest of the titles they publish barely move any copies at all. The editor, unsurprised by this news, agrees that the accountant's read of the situation is correct. The accountant, frustrated by this, demands to know why the publisher wastes their time with all of these other books. Why aren't they just publishing the ones that sell?
The editor gives the accountant the thousand-yard-stare, sighs, and tells him that's what they're trying to do. No one ever approves a book for publication if they don't think it has potential. But there's no such thing as a guarantee, and every, single book that goes out is a roll of the die.
I'm recounting this story because, regarding these two projects of mine, it feels like this is extremely true. When I first started working on Sundara, I reached out to groups dedicated to those who played Pathfinder and DND 5E, and I asked them what would appeal to them as part of a new setting. I incorporated a lot of the answers I got, and for a time folks seemed interested. The very concept of Army Men, where you play living plastic people fighting tactical skirmishes against alien, insectile foes, got a lot of players excited when the idea was going around, and it was good enough to fund the Kickstarter to get the game released.
However, I have no way of knowing if the next supplement, or series of supplements, I write for these games and settings that are going to light a fire under the player base, or if I'm just shoveling a few thousand more words into the abyss when no matter what I do all I'm going to get are echoes of my own voice.
So... do I roll the dice?
The Plan
Let's back up a second, and I'll do my best to make some sense of what my approach has been, and where I'm currently at.
I started releasing supplements for Sundara: Dawn of a New Age a few years ago. The idea was that it would be a modular fantasy TTRPG setting where Game Masters could either play in the world as it existed, or they could take the parts of it they liked and add it to their own settings and games with relatively little hassle. Some supplements, like Merchants of Sundara, are explicitly written to be system-neutral additions, while others like the Cities of Sundara: Ironfire supplement come in a version for Pathfinder and a version for DND 5E.
Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic went a more traditional route. We Kickstarted the base book, and after it came out I got to work on writing supplemental materials for it. This includes extra monsters and challenges in Army Men: Threat Assessments, the Medals System for rewarding player achievements in-game in Army Men: Medals of Honor, and the most recent update Army Men: Ungentlemanly Warfare, which was full of all sorts of horrible booby traps to spread over your maps.
The basic idea was pretty striaghtforward; keep making interesting, unique supplements for these two products, and to grow the player base by giving people more cool stuff. After all, the more material a game/setting has available for it, the better the chance there is that players will check it out. And if new releases are constantly coming out, it lets players know there's support for the game, and they aren't going to be playing something that has already hit the wall, and been abandoned.
Of course, that wasn't the ONLY thing I did. I've covered both of these projects repeatedly right here on Improved Initiaitve, I've talked about them on various podcasts and YT channels (such as my recent interview over on Third Floor Wars for Episode 244), and I have entire video series for each of them on the Azukail Games YouTube channel, which you should definitely check out.
The idea was that if I just kept writing supplements for these game, if I kept talking about them, and kept giving players new and interesting paths to pursue, then eventually they'd start getting traction. However, it is really tough to keep putting out my best work when it feels like no one out there is really enjoying it, or like the only person I'm making these for is me.
The reason I say that, and the reason I took you through all of that lead up, dear readers, is because I need your help.
I've said this time and time again, but it is impossible for an author to make themselves successful in publishing (ditto for a YouTuber or a podcaster to make themselves successful). We can put out all the projects we want, and we can log all the hours and words we can think of... but if no one reads, listens, or buys copies, we're just shouting into a hurricane. At the end of the day, it's like we didn't do anything at all.
So if you're someone who has gotten copies of Army Men, or any of my Sundara books, please go to Drive Thru RPG, rate them, and review them. Additionally, consider boosting the signal for them on your social media pages, whether you're on Twitter, FB, Reddit, or anywhere else, so that I can reach some fresh eyes (and because admins are less uptight about fans sharing links to things than they are about creators trying to do self-promotion). If you haven't gotten copies for yourself yet, then consider picking them up, and then leaving the aforementioned reviews and signal boosts.
It seems basic, but at the end of the day, numbers are what keep projects going. Authors don't want to keep writing supplements no one seems interested in, and even if they do, eventually publishers are going to stop greenlighting projects if they don't lead to increased sales.
Without support, we have to move on to something else. So if you want to see Sundara or Army Men continue on, please take a moment to make your voice heard!
To Catch Up On Sundara: Dawn of a New Age
The links to all of my current Army Men books are listed above in this entry. However, Sundara is a little larger, and so I've listed out all the supplements here for folks to follow up on. Start wherever you want, there is no wrong door. And, of course, you can check out the full Speaking of Sundara playlist, in addition to the following supplements!
Cities of Sundara
The setting first began with the Cities of Sundara splats. Self-contained guides to some of the larger and more powerful centers of trade, industry, arms, and magic, these unique locations provide plenty of fodder for character generation and plots. Not only that, but each one comes with unique, mechanical goodies for players and GMs alike to take out for a spin!
- Ironfire: The City of Steel (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Built around the Dragon Forge, Ironfire is where the secret to dragon steel was first cracked. The center of the mercenary trade in the region, as well as boasting some of the finest schools for teaching practical sciences, Ironfire is a place where discovery and danger walk hand in hand!
- Moüd: The City of Bones (Pathfinder and DND 5E): An ancient center of trade and magic, Moüd was lost to a cataclysm, and then buried in myth. Reclaimed by the necromantic arts of the Silver Wraiths guild, this city has once again become a place teeming with life. Despite the burgeoning population, though, it is the continued presence of the undead that helps keep the city running, ensuring that Moüd is not swallowed up once more.
- Silkgift: The City of Sails (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Built on the cottage industry of Archer cloth (an extremely durable material used for sails, windmills, etc.), Silkgift is a place that prizes invention and discovery. From gravity batteries that store the potential of the wind, to unique irrigation systems, to aether weapons, the city positively churns out discoveries... and then there's the canal they cut through the mountains that makes them a major center of trade across the region.
- Hoardreach: The City of Wyrms (Pathfinder and DND 5E): A center of power across an entire region, Hoardreach is ruled over by a Cooperation of five different dragons. A place for refugees and outcasts of all sorts, Hoardreach boasts some of the most unusual citizens and creations from across Sundara. Infamous for their sky ships, which require the cast-off scales and unique arcane sciences of the Dragon Works to take to the air, one never knows just what they'll find in this city built atop a mountain.
- Archbliss: The City of The Sorcerers (Pathfinder and DND 5E): A floating city in the sky, Archbliss has been a refuge for sorcerers for thousands of years. It's only in relatively recent years that the city has allowed those from the ground below who lack the power of a bloodline to join them in the clouds. However, while there are certainly amazing wonders to behold, there is a darkness in Archbliss. Something rotting away at its heart that could, if not healed, bring the city crashing to the ground once more.
Gods of Sundara
- Gods of Sundara (available for Pathfinder and DND 5E): In a world with no alignment, and where the gods are often genuinely mysterious forces that are far too large for mortals to truly comprehend, the divine feels genuinely strange and unknown... something that really does have to be taken on faith. This supplement provides a sample pantheon for Sundara, but also provides instructions on how to easily make your own gods in a world where you can't cast a spell and tell whether someone is good or evil.
Species of Sundara
Sundara is filled with creatures that many of us recognize, but I wanted to give greater depth to their cultures, and a wider variety of options. After all, humans always get 15+ ethnicities, languages, and unique histories, while elves, dwarves, orcs, halflings, etc. are almost always left with footnotes, or maybe with a handful of offshoots. So, in short, I wanted to give all the fantastical creatures the treatment that humans usually get in our games.
And there is no human book yet. If readers demand to know more, then I may sit down to pen one... but I figured that humans didn't need to be front-and-center in this setting just yet.
- Elves of Sundara (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Elves are one of the most quintessential fantasy creatures... but if you want to see more than just high elves, wood elves, and elves of the sun and moon, then this supplement has you covered!
- Dwarves of Sundara (Pathfinder and DND 5E): The children of the primordial giants who were meant to fill in the details of the world they'd made (or so the myths say) there are as many kinds of dwarves as their are kinds of giants... and possibly more, depending on who is keeping count.
- Orcs of Sundara (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Supposedly a creation of the elves, none can say for certain exactly how or why orcs have been made. What most agree on is that these creatures are far more than most may think at first glance.
- Halflings of Sundara (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Little cousins to the dwarves, halflings are tough, clever, and not to be underestimated. From living beneath the hills, to taking up residence in the deep forests, halflings in Sundara come in quite a variety!
- The Blooded (Half-Elves and Half-Orcs) [Pathfinder and DND 5E]: When orcs and elves mix their bloodlines with other creatures, the result is one of the Blooded. This inheritance takes many forms, and it can even wait generations before manifesting when the right combination of individuals come together to have a child.
- Gnomes of Sundara (Pathfinder and DND 5E): Gnomes are strange creatures, found in places where the spirit of the land has coalesced and made children of its own. The sons and daughters of the ancient nymphs, they are the stewards of these places, and they change as often as the weather and the land.
Organizations of Sundara
Phase 3 has been going strong, but there's still a few titles left in it! So if you haven't seen them, consider checking out:
- Sellswords of Sundara: With power structures being smaller in scale in Sundara, standing armies aren't often maintained for long. As such, soldiers of fortune are quite common! This supplement contains 10 mercenary companies, their history, uniform, sample members, whispers and rumors, as well as either an archetype or subclass for playing these unique warriors. Grab your copy for Pathfinder of DND 5E.
- Cults of Sundara: Faith comes in many forms in Sundara, and there are as many gods in the Prim as there are dreams in the minds of people. This supplement contains write-ups for 10 cults, their histories, sample members, rumors about them, their beliefs and tenets, and a unique magic item for each. Get your copy for Pathfinder or DND 5E.
- Guilds of Sundara: While cities and villages may be relatively local, guilds are spread across the length and width of Sundara. From professional orders of skilled miners and dredgers, to monster slayers and bounty hunters, this supplement has 10 guilds with histories, sample members, rumors, as well as unique feats one can take to represent the skill and benefits of joining this order. Available for Pathfinder as well as DND 5E.
- Merchants of Sundara: While city states might be the largest form of government you find in the setting, merchants hold an outsized amount of power. From huge mercantile houses, to small brands infamous for their quality as much as for their price, there are a lot of options listed in this particular world building supplement.
Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!
That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!
To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!
As my regular readers know, I've been putting out content for my Sundara: Dawn of a New Age fantasy TTRPG setting for just over 3 years now. I've covered many of the fantastical places in the setting, along with delving into the different species that players have access to in Sundara, and I've put out dozens of factions including mercenary companies, cults, guilds, and even merchant houses. And as if all of that wasn't enough, there's also half a dozen audio dramas on the Azukail Games YouTube channel set in this place to give listeners a little taste of the kinds of stories they're going to run into when they crack the covers on one of these splat books.
And if you've been looking to get into this setting, we have a DND 5E bundle for Sundara going on right now!
Before we get into the nitty gritty this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron! Also, be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree.
Lastly, for hundreds of extra articles on gaming, weird history, and for more free fiction, check out my Vocal archive, too!
What You'll Find in This Bundle!
I know this is Crunch week, but given that this is a 1-week bundle, I wanted to make sure that folks heard about it before it was gone. So, what is included in this package, and what does it do for you as a player, Game Master, or both? In a mechanical sense?
- All 5 Cities of Sundara Splats: These books come with maps, plot hooks, NPCs, location history, district-by-district breakdowns, and usually some extra mechanical pieces like write-ups for unique animals, new Backgrounds for players to use, air or spell-based firearms, etc.
- All 6 Species of Sundara Splats: These each offer 5 subraces for players and GMs alike to use, and it covers elves, dwarves, orcs, gnomes, halflings, and the Blooded (half-elves and half-orcs in one).
- Sellswords of Sundara: A book of mercenary companies, this one has subclasses for fighters, barbarians, monks, rangers, and more!
- Gods and Cults of Sundara: These 2 splats contain unique rules for followers of the gods, as well as magic items one will find in the hands of various cults throughout the setting.
- Guilds of Sundara: In addition to providing GMs with a collection of guilds that come with NPCs, rumors, plot hooks, history, etc., there are also a selection of fresh feats that can be used by players to tie them more closely to these organizations.
- A Dekas of Sundaran Alchemical Constructs: A handy guide full of weird equipment, this pairs particularly well with the aether weapons found in the Cities of Sundara book for Silkgift, where these air-powered guns first debuted!
So, all in all, that's 16 splat books for about $30 and change. And if you bought all of them separately, that would run you over $60... so you're currently looking at a lot of new toys to play with for 50% off this week!
And best of all, Sundara is designed to act as a kind of modular setting. So if you like the idea of these books, but you'd still rather run them in your own setting, they're kind of designed for exactly that kind of setup! So whether it's a city, a species, a guild, or a cult, you can take the parts you like and import them into your own game world with very little additional work on your part! I actually talked about it a while back, for those who are curious about this setting's modular design style.
If You Don't Play DND 5E, Stay Tuned!
Several folks have mentioned that they like the idea of Sundara, and they would get this bundle, but their table doesn't play DND 5E, so it wouldn't really be something they'd use. If that's the case, don't fret, there's more on the way!
Because while there have been talks to expand Sundara into a variety of other game systems, most of those haven't happened yet. However, it is available for Pathfinder classic, and that bundle is coming down the pipe! So if there's a particular supplement that catches your eye, or you just want to grab one to see what the fuss is about, I'd definitely urge you to do that. But if you're totally onboard, and you just want to get a version of the game you will actually use, then make sure you follow all my social media pages because when the next bundle drops I'm going to make sure everyone hears about it!
Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!
That's all for this week's Crunch post. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!
To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!
Folks who enjoy my fiction have had a lot of new additions to check out in the past year. If you're a fan of my long-form work, all three of my out-of-print novels are now available once again (the two tales about a hard-nosed cat getting involved in gangland shenanigans in NYC's mean streets, Marked Territoryand Painted Cats, as well as my dystopian sci-fi thriller Old Soldiers). If you enjoy my audio dramas, the Azukail Games YouTube channel has been adding more and more of them, many of which are now connected as parts of ongoing series! And, lastly, I've had a big variety of stories going up as part of my Vocal archive, ranging from the Weird War II story Where The Red Flowers Bloom to the much more recent fifth installment of the Gav and Bob series Faith and Martyrs, adding a new chapter to the adventures of the Imperium's bravest ogryn.
However, I wanted to remind folks that if you really enjoy my stories, but you wish you could listen to more of them, then you should definitely head on over to A Vox in The Void, because his channel has been doing some really great adaptations of my work over the past year!
Before we get into the nitty gritty this week, don't forget to sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron! Also, be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree.
Lastly, for hundreds of extra articles on gaming, weird history, and for more free fiction, check out my Vocal archive, too!
Even More Stories For You To Listen To
I've given shout outs to A Vox in The Void several times on this blog, as the channel has done audio renditions of a majority of my Warhammer 40K short stories, including classics like Waking Dogs, the tale of a renegade World Eater, Field Test, which is the story of a potent experiment being conducted by an inquisitor, and even The Final Lamentation, a story of what happens when a Lamenter falls to the Black Rage. However, I wanted to remind folks this week to head over there, subscribe to the channel if you haven't, and to check out the latest round of my stories that have appeared there!
While I've been focusing on other projects since late last year, my hope is to get back onto a few fresh stories that will show up on the channel in the future... so make sure you check them out, and help keep the views up for both my stories, and others as well!
There's More Potential Projects on The Way As Well!
While I've got a lot of stuff out there, I also wanted to take today's post to remind folks that my hope in 2024 was to do a larger audio drama project of my own, likely in the form of a combination podcast/video channel. This project might take the form of a combined series of Chronicles of Darkness seasons, which I talked about back in Windy City Shadows: A Chronicles of Darkness Podcast Proposal, but that isn't set in stone. So if folks would rather see a long-running fantasy story set in my Sundara: Dawn of a New Age setting, if they'd rather see a continuation of my sci-fi series, or even see me take on a setting like Pathfinder's Golarion, or Exalted's Creation, I'm not averse to trying those things out, either.
It's really going to depend on you!
The first step for making this project go is to get the Azukail Games YouTube channel monetized. We're just under 1,000 hours of watch time to hit that goal when last I checked, and getting past that point would be a huge boon. So please, subscribe to the channel if you haven't, and share the videos you like best, because those are the ones that will likely get the top consideration for expansion when it comes to a fiction project. Also, make sure you leave your thoughts and feelings in the comments on said videos, because that will get the publisher's attention, as well as the algorithm's!
Lastly, if you want to check out a bunch of my stories that don't wind up on YouTube, make sure you follow my Rumble channel The Literary Mercenary. That channel is likely to be another destination for future stories, so make sure you don't miss those installments!
What's Next on Table Talk?
That's it for this installment of Table Talk! What would you like to see next? I'm listening for your comments and votes!
To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter, as well as on Pinterest where I'm building all sorts of boards dedicated to my books, RPG supplements, and greatest hits. Lastly, to help support me and my work, consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron! Even a little donation can have a big impact.
Folks who've been following my blog for a while know that, in addition to writing straight-up rules content and GM supplements for RPGs, I have a soft spot for tie-in fiction. Given that The Irregulars was my first professional credit with an RPG company (a short story about a team of black ops saboteurs working for Andoran in the Golarion setting), that shouldn't really surprise anyone. While I've written my share of other stories, such as the Silver Raven Chronicles that details my group's journey through the Hell's Rebels adventure path, as well as Warhammer 40K short stories like Blackest Knights and The Emperor's Hand (stories about Deathwatch black shields, and a new Gav and Bob adventure respectively), I had an idea for a new project that might grab some folks' interest.
In short, rather than writing stories about fictional settings, the idea would be to write books found within those fictional settings... and Golarion is where I'd specifically start this proposed project.
Before we get into the nitty gritty this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron!
Lastly, to be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree!
What if I actually wrote some of the books on this list, and made them available through the Pathfinder Infinite platform?
It's a little unconventional, I'll admit.
For anyone who's played Skyrim, the basic idea would be do what that game did and actually write books players could find in the setting in their entirety. While fun to read on their own, they would also act as examples of the books that characters might have read growing up, or which they might wile away the hours wtih on long journeys as they pursue the objectives of their various quests. Whether folks wanted to grab one of the Dark Tales volumes, which contain gothic horrors and romances in the style of Ustalavian author Ailson Kindler, stories from The Lion's Quiet Roar which are basically a fantasy version of James Bond's tales told with Taldor as the heroes, or even a novel like Love and Blood: A Romance in Gray which tells the tale of a young noblewoman hiding her bloodline in Galt who's new lover is actually one of the nation's infamous Gray Gardeners.
On the one hand, I'm the first to admit this is kind of a silly idea for a project. It would also be extremely time and energy intensive, even if I managed to get other creators in on it to make the project go a little faster, much like I did with the Tales From The Moot collection of short stories for Werewolf: The Apocalypse. And, much as it pains me to say this, the rules of platforms like Pathfinder Infinite are quite clear; products made through them are digital only, so these wouldn't be novels like the Pathfinder Tales that you could buy at cons, or down at your local bookstore. They'd be ebooks only under the current rules.
Unless someone reading this happens to have the ear of Paizo's publishing team, in which case have them shoot me an email and I'll work up a full proposal for any of these books!
But that's my question for my readers this week. Is this the sort of project you think you'd be interested in? If so, which of the titles in 100 Books To Find Across The Inner Sea would you like to see expanded into a full meta book? Or if you're more interested in more game materials, what other supplements would you like to see me add to Golarion in the future? Are there any particular nations, cities, classes, or topics you want to see covered?
Toss it all in the comments below!
Lastly, There's The Possibility of a Podcast
If you've been watching my updates, then you know that I've been making a lot of audio dramas over the past year or so. I've even considered finishing out the Silver Raven Chronicles (which only 4 parts at time of writing) in an audio format. However, if folks would like a series of tales told round the campfire, stories of the Baba Yaga, the adventures of legendary figures that may or may not have happened in Golarion, etc., that is also a possibility if it's something folks would tune-in to listen to.
Speaking of ongoing narrations, I also wanted to remind readers that right now I'm putting together a series of crossover stories between Geist: The Sin Eaters and Mage: The Awakening. The above story is taken from my 50 Geists supplement, and it tells the story of how former mob hitter Johnny Hammer came to be the right hand of the creature called the Six Gun Saint. In 100 Shadow Names (And Their Meanings) we find out that Johnny's former boss, Tony Gracchus, awakened as a newly-minted Moros. Young and arrogant, he took the name Cyprian, and the necromancer has been using his power in ways that have alienated a lot of the community. It's likely that behavior is one reason the Saint chose Johnny as his new triggerman, and the two of them are set on a collision course for one hell of a reckoning.
So if that's something you'd like to see me add to in the coming months, consider grabbing copies of the supplements so I can convince the publisher that these game lines are worth making more material for, subscribe to the Azukail Games YouTube channel, and help me spread the word!
And, of course, if you have any particular supplements you'd like to see for those game lines, leave those in the comments as well!
Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!
That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!
To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!
For those who are regular readers here on Improved Initiative, I know it can be tough to keep track of everything I'm working on and putting out. I've got two blogs here a week, one blog a week over on The Literary Mercenary, an ever-growing Vocal archive covering everything from weird history to character conversion builds, and an entire Amazon author page where you can find books like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knifeor my short story collection The Rejects. Then on top of all of that, I've got dozens of modules, supplements, and other RPG-related products on the market right now.
It's that last one that I'd like to talk to you about today, though. Because while I enjoy at least a little bit of creative freedom with the projects I propose and the things I work on, at the end of the day this is still my job. As such, I want to create the sorts of things you all want as my readers, because doing so allows me to keep my landlady happy with enough left over at the end of the month for tacos.
What would you think are some of the most popular RPG products I've had a hand in making? What are the things that have climbed their way up the metal charts on Drive Thru RPG to put me in some rather select company?
Well, at time of writing, my top sellers seem to be:
There are over 80 projects out there right now with my name on them, and they run the gamut. Some of them were proposed by me, some were given on assignment, and I wrote them for half a dozen different companies. If you'd asked me which ones I thought were going to do really well, I probably would have guessed one of my current top three. Maybe. If I was lucky.
You know what I didn't predict, though? I didn't predict that the pair of supplements 100 Unusual Aasimar and 100 Tieflings to Meet in Your Travels would basically stall out and go nowhere. I'd intended them to be the vanguard of a whole NPC supplement series where I gave DMs and players alike lists of elves, halflings, orcs, etc. since it seemed that NPC lists always did well. When these two flopped, I pivoted completely and basically haven't written a fantasy NPC list since, despite two of them being my top sellers.
Speaking of things I thought would do well... and this one's the top seller!
One of those projects that sounded like it would do really well was the Critical Hits series that I wrote for TPK Games a yonk or two ago. By order of release these one-shot modules went like this:
- False Valor: A murder mystery where the players need to uncover who's responsible for the death of a local girl before old grievances ignite the grudge the local dale has with the elves of the nearby forest, restarting a war that took a heavy toll on both sides.
- The Curse of Sapphire Lake: When a new crop of settlers attempts to reclaim Kingsbridge, a ghost from the past haunts them. A bone-white face lurks in the woods, and misfortune crouches in every shadow... but is there something deeper to the curse that seems to hang in the air around Sapphire Lake?
- Ghosts of Sorrow Marsh: Something is prowling the old Marsh Road, and it's left the town of Bracken cut off and desperate. Are you brave enough to venture into the marsh and uncover the dark truth of what is slowly closing its fist around the town?
These modules were written for Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition, which is hands-down the most popular RPG going right now, as well as the most popular one on Drive Thru RPG by a long shot. TPK Games had a pretty solid history of sales with pre-written games, and the original plan floated at the time the project commenced was for me to write 10 one shots that could then be bundled both digitally and as a book for gamers who wanted to keep a variety on-hand.
Despite video reviews and play throughs on YouTube, along with positive reviews from many people who have played it, only one of these modules even managed to claw its way to Copper. The others make an occasional sale here and there, but nothing that would warrant the time, effort, and expense of expanding the series beyond this original trilogy.
This Week, Just Tell Me What You'd Like To See!
I've had some projects that absolutely explode when I do not expect them to (such as my Pathfinder Character Conversion For Andrew Jackson), and others that I expect to do well completely fizzle. As such I thought I'd take this Monday to cut out the guess work and ask you, my readers, what you want to see.
If you're a reader who doesn't buy supplements, but likes my work, I want your opinion as well. Should I go back and write a fresh batch of Character Conversions? For which edition would you like to see them, if so? Or should I expand my 5 Tips collection, and cover some more base classes or fantasy races? Perhaps step into another game/setting entirely, such as the World/Chronicles of Darkness and talk about playing better vampires, werewolves, etc.?
The sky is the limit here! Anything you want to see, just tell me in the comments to have your vote counted.
I will let you in on a secret, though. The best way to get my attention, as well as a publisher's attention, is to try to boost the signal on the things we put out. Because if something sells a lot of copies (or gets a lot of reads, in the case of a free article), that sends a message to us loud and clear; the readers want more of this thing. So by all means, tell me what you want... but just to underline it, make sure you share some links on your social media to similar products, or boost the signal on particular guides/projects.
Because as long as there's audience interest, I'll be more than happy to keep the party going.
Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!
To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!
One of the unfortunate realities of being a creator is that you need to reach out to the biggest audience possible in whatever ways you can. I've been fortunate that I've found a pretty reliable base of supporters on Facebook, and I've been steadily trying to grow my Tumblr and Twitter presence over the years as well. Incidentally, if you're not following me on these sites, I'll link my Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter pages to make it easy for you.
However, with the recent demise of Google +, I've had to find a new outlet to make up for the loss in traffic and regular readers. And so, at the urging of several people, I have decided to jump onto a new platform with both feet... Pinterest!
I know these are Post-Its, but you get the general idea.
While I added the link to my Pinterest up there on the top bar, I thought I'd take this opportunity to discuss what I've done with it so far, and what I plan on doing with it in the future, should you choose to follow me there.
Pinning Down My Releases and Latest Activities
My primary goal over at Pinterest at the moment is to put together a single, easy place to find all my books and supplements. For instance, if you check out the Board For My Books then you'll find things like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, but you'll also find collections that I've been a part of, like the horror anthologies American Nightmare and Noir Carnival. No muss, no fuss, nothing getting lost in the shuffle or your newsfeed; it's all right there at your fingertips!
I've also started a second board, which will be a repository for all the RPG supplements/books I've written or been a part of. On My RPG Supplements Board you'll find things like the 100 Whispers and Rumors in a Borderland Town that I wrote for Raging Swan Press, as well as stuff like Feats Reforged IV: The Magic Feats from Total Party Kill Games. That board is being brought up to speed a little bit every day, but soon it will be a cover-indexed place to find all the stuff you can use at your gaming table that will be updated as soon as something new drops so you never miss a release.
And that's just the start of my plans.
Would you like to know more?
Once I've got my books and supplements up to speed, I'd like to create an additional board for cool games and supplements I've found in my searches. Some of them will have been reviewed here in the past, and some won't, but the idea is to put together a central location where folks can find stuff I would personally recommend, in case you're curious. I'll likely have another board with physical things like props, coins, etc. that could be used both at a tabletop game, and in a LARP. I'll also be combing through my past articles, both from here and on Vocal to showcase which pieces of advice have gotten the most views in the past. So if you don't want to dig through 5+ years of history on my blog, you'll have the greatest hits at your fingertips!
That should keep me busy till... oh, about the end of spring! And after that, I'm sure I'll be building more boards to showcase all the wild, weird, or otherwise handy tools folks can use at their own tables. So if that sounds like something you'd be interested in, please head to my Pinterest page, and give me a follow! Check out what I've got up so far, and if you'd like to see something I haven't mentioned then leave it in the comments below.
That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday update. I promise I'll be back on-message shortly with more gaming-specific thoughts, advice, plans, and suggestions!
If you'd like to see even more of my work, you might want to drop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio where I help out quite a bit. And if you'd like to help support me, you could either Buy Me A Ko-Fi, or go to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a patron! Every little bit helps, and trust me it's greatly appreciated.
